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BBL Season-high crowd watches Manchester by-pass Birmingham
Manchester Giants defeated Birmingham Bullets 80-70 in their Dairylea Dunkers Championship match before a season-high crowd of 6,322 at Manchester Evening News Arena on Thursday night.
Manchester, which also won the first British Airways-M6 Challenge trophy - an exclusive competition between the Giants and Birmingham - by sweeping the two regular-season games, edged ahead of Sheffield at the head of the the Northern Conference table ahead of the duo's meeting in Manchester on Sunday.
Tony Dorsey had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists to lead the Giants to a morale boosting return to action after their uni-ball Trophy Final loss last Saturday. The hosts held their visitors to just 8 points in the second quarter for a 38-25 half-time lead and with a 51-31 advantage in the rebounding stakes, they were comfortable victors.
Roy Hairston added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Nick Nurse's men who now possess a league best 28-3 record.
Justin Phoenix led Birmingham with 19 points and Nigel Lloyd notched 18, their team dropping to a 15-16 record in its first match since coach Mike Finger announced his forthcoming departure.
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